Clerks employed at a department store, for example, must make shipping slips for goods requested by customers to be shipped. A set of shipping slips consists of a number of associated slips such as (1) a handling slip necessary for locating and packaging goods at a shipping center, (2) a tag to be attached to the goods, (3) a handling slip necessary for services at a depot (e.g., a small delivery station) connecting the shipping center and the addressee, and (4) a slip (delivery receipt) to be signed by the addressee acknowledging the receipt of the goods. Therefore, whenever required by a customer a shipping clerk prepares a set of such shipping slips according to information regarding the goods, the sender and addressee.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional handling slip 1 containing an "Addressee" section 11 and a "Sender" section 12. In the "Addressee" section, the name and address of the addressee, the name of the goods and a symbol indicative thereof are to be noted, and in the "Sender" section, the name and address of the sender are to be written. The information contained in the other shipping slips is basically the same as that noted in the handling ship.
Department stores get extraordinarily busy several times a year, but especially in December and January, when people buy and exchange gifts. At these peaks, shipping clerks have to read the slips quickly and accurately to select the proper way to ship the goods. For instance, the handling slip 1 shown in FIG. 1 indicates that the packaged goods contain fish, so the clerk, recognizing this by the name or symbol, selects the proper way to ship the same. Writing alone often fails to enable the clerk to identify the goods quickly. Of course, goods may be indicated by numerals as shown in FIG. 1, but it is very diffiuclt for clerks to completely memorize which numeral is keyed to what goods and instantly identify the goods being handled.